Bronze-level article

Brexit

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"I'm alright." — Jack.
How an Empire ends
U.K. Politics
Icon politics UK.svg
God Save the King?
How foul this referendum is. The most depressing, divisive, duplicitous political event of my lifetime. May there never be another.
—Robert Harris, throwing some sense into the situation[1]
The context of the referendum meant that it was always going to be a choice of evils: between the racism and bigotry that animated so much of the Leave campaign, and the neoliberalism of both the Cameron government and the EU. The option of a social democratic, or even soft neoliberal, EU was not on the ballot.
—John Quiggin, economist[2]

Brexit (A portmanteau of British Exit) is a mass movement within the UK which successfully campaigned for — and then won — a national referendum to leave the EU. The referendum was held on the 23rd of June 2016. [3] After four years of gut-wrenching chaos negotiations and political debate, Britain finally left the EU on 31st January, 2020, and after another year of choking a transition period, fully left the bloc by the end of the year - wait a minute, there's another transition period.

Brexit Lexicon

Word Explanation
2nd Referendum Commonly known as a "people's vote" or other advocates call it a "checking" vote[4]
Article 50 Article 50 of the Treaty of Lisbon is what allows countries to leave the EU in the first place[5]
Backstop The insurance policy at the Irish Border to prevent a hard border,[6] for the EU's and UK's sake.[7]
Boris Johnson Current Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
Brexit British Exit (from the European Union)
Brexit Deal The agreement between the EU and the UK which Theresa May couldn't get through Parliament. It has two parts: The Political Declaration and the Withdrawal Agreement. Boris Johnson has renegotiated for what has been described as a worse Withdrawal Agreement[8], which has passed the Commons at last but must still pass the Lords; the Political Declaration is still under consideration
Brexit Secretary Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union
Brexiteers People to who really want to leave the EU
Cabinet Boris Johnson's team made up of civil servants and ministers.
Chequers White Paper The 'agreement' within Theresa May's Cabinet about what Brexit is[9] [10]
Confidence and Supply Arrangement Requirement for a minority government to operate. Allowed for Theresa May to implement her own policy and was (in theory)[11] supported by the DUP[12]. Following the result of the December 2019 election, this is basically no longer in effect.
Conservative Party The party which makes up the government, leader is Theresa May Boris Johnson
Customs Union All EU countries have agreed to common export fees and no import tariffs[13]
David Cameron: Runaway Prime Minister who somehow doesn't regret calling the EU Referendum[14][15]
David Davis The first Brexit Secretary,[16] a useless man and also part of the ERG.[17] He resigned his position after Theresa May announced Chequers.[18]
Dominic Raab The 2nd Brexit Secretary[19], who also resigned because of shambles[20]
Donald Tusk The Head of the European Council[21]
DUP Democratic Unionist Party formerly in confidence and supply arrangement with Theresa May[22]. Notably, several members support Creationism[23][24] and Climate Denial[25], and blocked Same-Sex Marriage[26] and Abortion[27][28] in Northern Ireland.
European Commission The European Commission is the EU's executive arm. It takes decisions on the Union's political and strategic direction." [29]
European Council "The European Council defines the EU's overall political direction and priorities. It is not one of the EU's legislating institutions, so does not negotiate or adopt EU laws. Instead it sets the EU's policy agenda, traditionally by adopting 'conclusions' during European Council meetings which identify issues of concern and actions to take."[30]
EU Referendum The vote which people voted to leave
ERG European Research Group, the hard right, Eurosceptic wing of the Conservative party lead by Victorian time traveller Jacob Rees-Mogg[31]
Extension An extension to Article 50 meaning that the UK will leave the EU at a later date
House of Commons Where MPs discuss legalisation
House of Lords The 'upper house' where unelected people shape laws and confirm legalisation
Jacob Rees-Mogg Eurosceptic Aristocrat and MP for North East Somerset[32]
Jean Claude-Juncker The Head of the European Commission since 2014[33]
Jeremy Corbyn Former leader of the opposition
John Bercow The speaker for nearly a decade[34]; now retired, and voicing strong anti-Brexit sentiments[35]
Labour Party Her Majesty's official opposition, leader is currently Jeremy Corbyn (although, following the December 2019 election, he will step down[36])
Liberal Democrats Centrist party who were in coalition with the Conservatives from 2010-2015, leader is Vince Cable
Michel Barnier The EU Negotiator for Brexit[37]
Minister Head of a Government department
MP Member of Parliament
Nigel Farage Former leader of UKIP, current leader of the Brexit Party, and is very Eurosceptic[38][39]. He is also a Member of the European Parliament, and has been since 1999.
Olly Robbins UK's negotiator in Brexit, "The actual Brexit Secretary"[40]
Palace of Westminster Contains both the House of Commons and House of Lords
People's Vote The campaign for a 2nd referendum to stop Brexit
PM Prime Minister
Political Declaration Outlines the future relationship between the EU and the UK, not legally binding[41]
Remainers (Or remoaners if you're Katie Hopkins) are people who want/wanted to stay in the EU
Single Market Tariff free trading which came into effect in 1993[42]
Speaker The person in the chair in The Chamber who delegates who speaks and makes sure people aren't spoken over; current speaker is Sir Lindsay Hoyle
Stephen Barclay The 3rd and current Brexit Secretary[43] who can't say names properly [44]
The Chamber Where MPs actually sit in the House of Commons
The Independent Group A newly formed group (not a political party)[45] who are essentially centrist remainers.[46] The group of 11 are made up of former Tories and Labour MPs.[47]
Theresa May Prime Minister of the United Kingdom succeeding Cameron; finally resigned in 2019, making way for Boris Johnson
Tories Or Tory, slang term for the Conservative Party
UKIP United Kingdom Independence Party, it's far right and its leader is Gerard Batton[48]
Vince Cable Leader of centrist Liberal Democrats, who's stepping down[49]
Withdrawal Agreement The part of the Brexit Deal which will form a legally binding treaty, the bit which has the backstop in[50]

Explaining The Various Brexit Options

Norway + Iceland ÷ Canada

This option is basically let's be in the Single Market, just not be in the EU Political system. This is known as the European Economic Area or EEA. [51] This is still being considered an option despite Norway one Eurofanatical has-been Norwegian MP saying (basically) 'fuck off we don't want you in the EEA'. [52] So it's basically still an option but we don't know what the Norwegians or the EFTA bloc generally think because, well, we've never asked them about it. The Canada refers to Boris Johnson's deluded view of post-Brexit Britain where we more or less have the arrangement that Canada has the EU, known as the CETA Free Trade Agreement which took 6 years to negotiate. [53] So God knows what the UK would do in that interim, because Boris believes doing this in a no deal scenario meaning that the UK wouldn't have a free trade agreement with its biggest trade partner. To quote the Office for National Statistics "In 2016, the EU accounted for 48% of goods exports from the UK, while goods imports from the EU were worth more than imports from the rest of the world combined." [54]

Proponents of a Norway/Iceland EEA Deal

  • Labour MPs like Stephen Kinnock
  • Conservative MPs like Nick Boles

[55]

Proponents of Canada Plus

  • Mainly just Boris Johnson, he tried.

No Deal Brexit

This refers to leaving the EU without a deal. Preparations for this event have been, well not good.

Obligatory Chris Grayling Rant

Chris Grayling (Transport Secretary and a person who you would think was picked up off the street and just given a role in the cabinet on a whim) notably gave a no deal shipping contract to a company without ships. [56] This deal was later cancelled because a real company with real ships didn't want to provide ships to Chris Grayling's sham company. [57] His preparations have been so bad that he's been banned from Calais and he has been forced to pay £33 million to Eurotunnel, (yes you read that right). [58] [59] Chris Grayling also oversaw probation companies which collapsed so you can get a better idea of his ""competence"". [60]

Time For the UK to Piss Off The World Trade Organisation

The Cabinet are currently discussing what to do about import tariffs,[61] the proposal most popular is zero tariffs. [62] The EU have rebuffed this by saying “Our initial assessment is that the proposal is illegal. It is not compatible with WTO rules and it’s the start of a process where they’ll have to get approvals”. [63]

The Party of Business (?)

The Government also revealed a new safety standards logo, [64] this is being billed as reassuring businesses, except it will increase short term costs for business and mean that they'll have to apply for UKCA standards as well as CE EU standards if they want to sell products outside the UK. [65]

No Deal Forecast

Leaving the EU without a deal has been forecast to be a disaster [66] and many British supermarkets say that no deal will cause fresh food shortages, [67] although if you ask many British leave voters and proponents they'll tell you this is project fear (again). Whether it will be a disaster or not is yet to be seen, though I honestly don't want to find out.

No Deal Ireland

Ulster Unionists (another party in Northern Ireland) have told the Prime Minister that in the case of No Deal in Northern Ireland that "direct rule" must be re-established so Northern Ireland can have control over its manufacturing .ect. [68] If you were unaware, Northern Ireland has been ruled directly by Westminster since power sharing fell apart in January 2017. [69] Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar has pointed out that the UK won't be able to negotiate its own trade deals in the case of a no deal Brexit, this is because of the unsolved issue of the Irish Border. [70] He also pointed out that troops could return to the Irish Border in the case of no deal [71] and has said "I think the events in London and the instability in British politics in recent weeks demonstrates exactly why we need a legal guarantee and a solution that is operable (backstop), that we know will work and will last." [72] Even worse for English people and Irish Unionists, there's been warnings from Cabinet ministers which say that no deal could lead to Irish Unification. [73] Angela Merkel has also told Leo Varadkar to basically threat a hard Irish Border in a no deal scenario so to make Brexiteers back down [74]

Proponents of No Deal

  • Ardent capitalist, part time radio presenter and Demon Headmaster lookalike Jacob Rees Mogg [75]
  • Radio presenter, former UKIP leader and golden elevator poser [76] Nigel Farage [77]
  • The Euro-sceptic European Research Group, a cabal of leave Tory MPs. Including Jacob Rees Mogg. [78] Referred to as the party within a party [79] [80]

List of People Sounding the Apocalypse Alarm

  • Airbus's Senior Vice President, Katherine Bennett [81]
  • Mike Galsworthy (of Scientists for EU) writing in the Independent saying Brexit will "destroy science" [82]
  • Even the Daily Express [83]

Theresa May's Deal

The withdrawal agreement which no one likes and can't be renegotiated

Proponents of May's Deal

  • Theresa May, you would think anyway
  • Her Cabinet-Sort of, ok not really [84]
  • Labour Leave MPs who I'm pretty sure should just change party [85]

Whatever the Hell Labour are Thinking

This section will be a discussion of trying to figure out what Labour actually thinks about Brexit (as of March 2019). This is difficult because there's no united view, indeed you could argue that Labour are more split over Brexit than the Conservatives.

The Official View

Jeremy believes leaving via a customs union, though this is different to Norway Plus as that would still entail free movement. Though the confusing aspect of this proposal is how you're meant to still be a in a customs union and still have the ability to negotiate your own trade deals. [86] Jeremy wrote a letter to the PM saying that he'll back the withdrawal agreement if a Customs union is written into the Political Declaration (the other part of the Brexit Deal) and in UK law. [87] This didn't go down well at all with some now ex-Labour MPs. [88]

The Labour Membership

Being a Labour member must be rough, despite Jeremy insisting that his party is Democratic [89] that doesn't stop 90% (yes that much) wanting to remain in the EU via a People's Vote. [90] This has resulted in Labour membership subsequently plummeting to 512,000. [91]

Does Labour Support a 2nd Referendum After All?

So recent developments say that Labour does support a 2nd Referendum, [92] on if a Customs Union is ruled out. [93] Jeremy told Sky News that he would support the Withdrawal Agreement if the public could vote on it (so sort of like a 2nd Referendum). [94]

The Shadow Cabinet are Split too

Keir Starmer vs Jeremy Corbyn

Sir Keir Starmer, the Shadow Brexit Secretary is a very ardent remainer who supports a 2nd Referendum, [95] this puts him at odds with his leader who has been historically Eurosceptic and ruled out a 2nd referendum. [96] [97] [98] This split has reached somewhat of crescendo when Keir Starmer was absent from talks with the PM. [99] Whether the party moving towards Starmer's stance would help Labour do better, that's a little up in the air with the verdict being probably not because the electorate being more than Labour members. [100]

Emily Thornberry vs Jeremy Corbyn

She is an advocate of a People's Vote, [101] which Jeremy is clearly not (despite what he might say publically). During 6th of February edition of PMQs splits in Labour became more clear. Because Theresa May was in Northern Ireland, David Lidington and Emily Thornberry filled the gap. [102] During the questioning Labour splits over the backstop were unearthed by David Lidington, who pointed out that Emily is alright the backstop while Jeremy Corbyn isn't. [103]

Other Splits in Labour

Other less prominent Shadow Ministers are rebelling against Jeremy Corbyn and demanding an Article 50 Extension to carry out a 2nd Referendum. [104]

No, Advocating for General Elections Doesn't Replace an Actual Position on Brexit

Who needs real policy when you can just call for General Elections? [105] [106] Labour apparently want to win a General Election and somehow renegotiate with the EU, good luck with that.

The Malthouse Compromise

Dubbed the "Madhouse Compromise" (or "nonsense" by EU Diplomats) [107], this is a Conservative Party compromise made up of Tory Brexiteers and Remainers, like Nicky Morgan, and created by MP Kit Malthouse (hence the name). [108] This compromise will apparently magically solve the backstop by making a free trade agreement instead with "use of existing technologies", despite the EU not wanting to renegotiate. If that doesn't work they want a managed No-Deal. [109] [110] This seems the way the European Research Group are going - another prominent member, Steve Baker, warned the Prime Minister that legally fudging the backstop won't do. [111]

RIP Malthouse Compromise

It was unacceptable to the EU; what did people expect? [112]

People's Vote/2nd Referendum, Stopping Brexit

Logistics of a People's Vote

First off, the EU has to approve an initial extension to Article 50. Any extension going beyond July will be difficult for the EU due to the EU elections meaning that the UK will have to concentrate on mobilising MEPs instead of dealing with a 2nd Referendum. [113] So after the UK embarrassingly has MEPs in the EU Parliament, numerous legislation changes have to pass in Parliament for a People's Vote to happen before the extension period ends and the UK leaves with No Deal by default. First the EU Withdrawal Act has to be revoked (to change the legal end date of March 29th 2019) and then new primary legislation needs to replace it. [114] Assuming that all goes through smoothly then a people's vote will finally happen. Or would if People's Vote advocates coud even agree on what the question would be. [115] So most likely we'll be in deadlock until the extension period ends and we leave with No Deal; good work, guys.

If People Still Vote to Leave, What Have You Achieved?

Most People's Voters want a 2nd Referendum to stop No Deal Brexit, [116] but if people vote to leave again but not for Theresa May's deal then it's a firm No Deal. Again - good work, guys.

Potential Political Consequences of Stopping Brexit

Riots are expected if Brexit is stopped according to former cabinet minister Iain Duncan Smith. [117] Although a rebuttal to this claim came from an unlikely source, Nigel Farage. [118]

This Option Has Died

Not like it had much staying power anyway but Donald Tusk has officially killed it. [119]

Proponents of a 2nd Referendum

  • War criminal Tony Blair [120] and his right hand man Alistair Campbell [121]
  • Former Liberal Democrat leader and clueless person Vince Cable [122]
  • Green Party leader Caroline Lucas [123]
  • Remain Evangelist and annoying person Anna Soubry [124]
  • Shadow Brexit Secretary Kier Starmer, a man who gets left out of important meetings [125]
  • Bad tempered leftie and Jeremy Corbyn ally Emily Thornberry [126]

Timeline Part 1: Pre-Referendum

Why Did This Happen?

Look what they have made of our dream. This bloated, rotten carcass of an empire is driven not by reason and hope, but by fear, hate and ignorance.
—Roboute Guilliman, Warhammer 40,000

To understand why Brexit happened to begin with you have to understand the instrumental role the far-right eurosceptic party UKIP had on the Conservative Party. During 2014 the Tory MP Douglas Carswell defected to UKIP [127] and the party had 27.5% of the national vote during the 2014 local elections. [128] The Conservatives were definitely spooked, they needed to eliminate the rise of UKIP. So this is why the then Prime Minister David Cameron promised an In/Out EU referendum both in 2013 [129] and in the 2015 General Election. [130] Keeping his promise, he then tried to get concessions from the EU [131] this ultimately failed because of Cameron's insistence on immigration reform wasn't what he promised nor was it even possible to pass in the EU. [132]

Leave vs Remain: Explaining Reasoning and Campaigns

Remain:A Critical Evaluation of a Poor Campaign

Government's Justifications

David Cameron and the Government at the time wanted to remain. The reasons for such have been laid out here. [133]

To distil it down:

  • EU is the UK's biggest trade partner
  • We have special status
  • Leaving means uncertainty (oh boy they weren't wrong)
  • The EU is very rich and gives money to the UK

Couldn't Communicate

The remain side spent less time advertising the good stuff in the EU and spent more time acting like leaving the EU would invoke The Rapture, this was at least what the Leave Campaign said at the time. This was called "Project Fear". [134] This was particularly loved by tabloids. [135] David Cameron was a victim of poor PR, poor framing and egotistically believing that he had won the argument automatically so there was no need to fight. Framing remaining in the EU like done on the GOV website might have helped instead of the negative framing.

Where the Hell was the EU?

Yeah, the EU were certainly fighting the case for remaining weren't they?

Leave: Or How to Successfully Run a Populist Campaign

Brexiters

Distribution of voters of different ages over the Leave (red) and Remain (blue) camps. Notice a trend?
We should leave the EU because it would allow us the ability to dump the European Convention on Human RightsWikipedia.
—Sir Richard Dearlove, former head of MI6[136] (Emigrating sounds really good all of a sudden!)

The official campaign organisation for Brexit is Vote Leave.[137] Its chief executive is Matthew Elliott, founder of far-right libertarian anti-tax organisation the TaxPayers' Alliance, which calls for the replacement of the National Health Service with an insurance-based system[138] and the abolition of the BBC and opposes all green taxation. Its conveners are Conservative Michael Gove and Labour MP Gisela Stuart, who is coincidentally an immigrant from Germany.[139] Its board includes investment banker Stuart Wheeler, foreign exchange trader Peter Cruddas, Thatcherite MP turned investment banker Michael Forsyth,[140] private health woo-mistress Arabella Arkwright (of chiropractic specialists Core Health & Wellness), and expenses-fiddling Tory MP Bernard Jenkin.[141]

The Brexit campaigners did the same thing that what is now the Eagle Forum did to kill the ERA: gross exaggeration. The EU has relatively few powers, especially based on all of Britain's opt-outs. The ERA was also mostly nominal except on the issue of same-sex marriage by the time it was proposed too. Its opposed majorly exaggerated the powers the thing they were fighting had, and won both times. And both times, the victory was narrow, with Brexit winning with only 51.89% of the vote, and the ERA being just three states short of passing.

As well as the official Leave campaign, anointed by the Electoral Commission, a number of smaller groups are campaigning for Brexit:[142]

International support for Brexit

Although the international community as a whole is opposed to Brexit, there were a few individuals who supported this move:

  • The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria. According to counter extremist Shiraz Maher, ISIS has celebrated the weakening of the EU by Brexit. This is ironic considering the anti-Muslim views of many Brexiters.[161]
  • Janusz Korwin-MikkeWikipedia: A borderline anarcho-monarchist,[162] this Polish MEP says the EU is run by foreign agents and should be dissolved.[163] Compared to other right-wingers, he's not really hung up on homosexuals and atheists so much as he's "just" of the opinion that if you don't fit in society you should be executed. (Rothbard on steroids.) Even Le Pen considers him too radical to work with and that is saying something.[164] In fairness, he looks really good for 73; it could be due to the fact that be barely eats anything and lives on stupidity.
  • Marine Le Pen, who described Brexit as "the most important moment since the fall of the Berlin Wall" and has been campaigning for France to also leave the EU,[165] maintaining since 2016 that she will hold a referendum on "Frexit" within 6 months if she becomes leader, and says that the Brexit vote has given more impetus to this idea.[166] *shudder*
  • Vladimir Putin — Most in the "Remain" camp were aware that the "Leave" camp was asking them to disregard advice from the Bank of England, the London School of Economics, the Prime Minister, the President of the United States, and just about everybody who isn't a right-wing activist getting funds from the Kremlin (like Marine Le Pen is)[167], or a close friend of Putin (as Donald Trump's advisors are)[168] Now imagine how frustrated they are that so many of their fellow Britons swallowed the bait.[169]
  • Jill Stein, US presidential candidate for the Green Party of the United States of America and likely NaturalNews reader.[170] Also now possibly under investigation for collusion with Russia during the 2016 US election.[171]
  • Donald Trump (aka "Mr. Brexit"), the embodiment of the put-upon working man.[172] Expresses a desire for an Irish border wall (Is the Mexico wall not enough, you orange clown?!)[173] and is determined to dismantle the NHS in a post-Brexit Special Relationship trade deal[174].
  • Geert Wilders, who (compared to the others above) is pretty clean.[175] At least his one-man faction isn't filled with Vichyists and antisemites. His world-view is based around the coming war with Islam.

Ugh People Who Know What They're Doing

Yeah, those stupid people who are qualified. Pfft, who needs them? Now you understand the thinking behind Theresa May's Government. But this framing as all these ""intellectuals"" as being patronising and as "less than you" was part of Brexit's appeal, anti-establishment and anti-globalism.

The Damn Bus

This was basically a lie, a £350m lie.[176] Apparently actually £394 million according to the Prime Minister. [177]

Migrant scroungers

See the main article on this topic: Britain is full

The argument that staying in the EU would cause migrant-related issues in the UK.

Many eurosceptics make claims about how leaving the EU is the only way to control the UK's borders from the oncoming horde of (mostly Muslim) migrants sure to wash over us if we stay in the EU. This ignores the fact that many economists[178] believe that Europe is in need of more migrants, rather than fewer. This is in addition to the moral issue of leaving tens to hundreds of thousands of refugees in camps. The anti-migrant hysteria often also seems to emphasize that the migrants are largely Arab Muslims, perhaps trying to attach itself to the Islamophobic and racist elements of British society, or perhaps merely trying to create a dichotomy with which they sell how different and therefore untrustworthy the migrants are.

However, even this ignores that the anti-migrant political opinion has won. The UK is only admitting a tiny fraction[179] of the migrants who are seeking asylum in Europe. The 'take back control of our borders' argument is a false argument being used to justify a false argument.

The fear of Europeans having a say in how the UK is governed may also have some roots in europhobia. The argument which is often made against EU membership is that free movement within the EU leads to workers from other countries coming to the UK and displacing workers already employed in Britain. This stems from a naive interpretation of economics - there is a fixed number of jobs no matter what happens to the economy, irrespective of whether an immigrant arrives or not. These concerns, however, are generally unfounded,[180] perhaps from new immigrants also needing services which help to grow the economy rather than only taking jobs. One blog, looking at data up to December 2015, has produced an infographic detailing migrant skills, and their wider impact on the UK economy and welfare.[181] In addition, eurosceptics often also leave out the 1.2 million[182] British people who have employment within the EU, whose economic contributions to Britain might be less if they were more restricted on where they could take a job.

The UK also has an aging population and a weak birth rate.[183] Savagely clamping down on immigration leads to the trap which currently has Japan in its jaws. More to the point, immigrants pay the taxes and work in the services that support the large retired community. Perhaps inevitably, it is older people from areas with very little immigration who are most opposed to it. The predictable consequence of those voters getting what they want is that these services will have to be cut or privatized—which tells you how much of it is xenophobic versus rational concern over stressed services.[184][185] Meanwhile in London, where immigration actually does stress services (like school provision), most people are in favour of immigration.[186]

The anti-immigrant position is partly based on a sense of feeling overcrowded, finding it hard to get affordable accommodation and access public services. This is perhaps due to the UK's consistently poor investment in health, education, housing and other areas. England has fewer doctors per person than most OECD nations[187], fewer dentists than most of western Europe[188], one of the highest average school class sizes[189], and fails to build enough homes to meet demand with a steep decline in house-building since the 1960s[190].

Take Back Control

Do I think that British Agriculture could survive outside the EU? Yes, of course I do. After all, this is the country that produced Jethro Tull, the NORFOLK four course rotation, James Watt, Henry Ferguson and of course Guy Smith!
—This non sequitur is brought to you by Campaign For an Independent Britain

One point that the eurosceptics frequently make is that British 'sovereignty' would start being 'reclaimed' if we just left the EU first. Eurosceptics talk about how EU courts override British courts despite the fact that you can't have an international court if a local court can overrule it, and that's kind of the point. The UK has already been granted exceptions to EU rules in many categories like participation in Schengen Area and the Eurozone. While "claiming back our sovereignty" makes for a decent soundbite, it doesn't really mean anything at all.

Another thing the Brexiters conveniently forget is that the countries with free trade agreements with the EU (Norway, Iceland and Switzerland) but no membership have to accept the vast majority of EU regulations — including oft-maligned agricultural rules on the curvature of bananas — in order to gain access to the common market but have no say in them. The same would happen to Britain: either they have to accept European rules or they can forget selling their products across the Channel. Not exactly what sovereignty looks like.

Jo Cox assassination

See the Wikipedia article on Murder of Jo Cox.
My name is death to traitors, freedom for Britain.
—Thomas Mair, when asked for his name in court[191]

On 16th June 2016, Labour (and pro-Europe) MP Jo CoxWikipedia was murdered by Thomas Mair while campaigning for remain. Mair was a far-right advocate with links to American neo-nazi groups. Mair reportedly shouted "Britain First!" the moment before opening fire.[192][193]. Mair was found guilty of the crime and sentenced to life in prison.[194]

While the right rhetoric of swarms, invasions, floods, unelected eurocrat dictators and terrorists sparking some violence is unsurprising, the reaction of the polls serves to remind us just how emotion-driven people's responses to the issue of Europe are. Following news of the event reaching everyone, Brexit moved from a 3 point lead to around the same.[195]

Timeline Part 2: The Bresult and Immediate Aftermath

As a result of the vote passing by a margin of 52/48%, the value of the pound nosedived from $1.4672 to $1.2994 - a low not seen since 1985.[196] The FTSEWikipedia went into a one-day freefall of more than 8%, not seen since the collapse of Lehman Brothers in 2008. Several banks (including Barclays and RBS) took major hits, while shares in the housebuilding sector fell by up to 50% (as in the case of Bovis Homes).[197] UK government bond yields also hit a new record low as investors rushed to safety.[197] Research by prestigious Russell Group universities collaborating with European institutions has been hit. Many UK scientists were asked to step down due to uncertainties over funding.[198]

Oh, and David Cameron announced he would resign as Prime Minister [199]. After voting to leave the EU on the principle that it gives Britain unelected leaders, Conservatives Party Members were pleased to give Theresa May the position of Prime Minister despite the total lack of a public vote.

2017 Election: Or How Theresa Lost Her Majority

She called a General Election, even though she said she wouldn't. [200] She lost the Tory majority for her ego, [201] then she had to go into a confidence and supply arrangement to make up the numbers in the House of Commons [202]. Losing her majority has made Brexit harder to deal with, what a shambolic woman. This needless delay to the negotiations served to muddle the strategy discussions.

Other Results

Paul Nuttalls' UKIP meanwhile was destroyed in the popular vote and lost its only seat in parliament, while the SNP lost several seats in Scotland. Labour's Corbyn was still widely seen as the main victor of the election. So at least David Cameron got one wish.

Timeline Part 3: The Withdrawal Agreement Closes

Contempt of Parliament

All the way back on the 13th of November a Humble Address was passed in the Commons, meaning that the Government should publish all legal advice given to the Government relating to Brexit. [203] This would become the legal basis for the contempt ruling. The Attorney General, Geoffrey Cox, was contracted by the Government to give legal advice on the deal which was obtained from EU negotiations. The Government did not immediately publish the legal advice instead of opting for a Q&A with MPs [204] This was felt by the opposition parties as the Government withholding information, the Attorney General responded by telling MPs to "grow up".[205]

The key problem with proposed deal is the "backstop" which is the contingency plan to prevent a hard border between Northern Ireland and The Republic. [206] A soft border needs to exist on the island of Ireland because of what was known as The TroublesWikipedia which was only resolved by 1998's Good Friday AgreementWikipedia, these Troubles were basically a military conflict between those who wanted a United IrelandWikipedia and those who wanted to remain in the United Kingdom, kind of like a militarised version of Brexit with plenty of death and terrorist attacks. However the backstop could possibly lead to the breakup of the United Kingdom by giving Northern Ireland a closer connection to the EU than the rest of the UK. [207] During The Attorney General's statement and Q&A he admitted that there was no way the UK could unilaterally leave the backstop meaning that if it was activated the only way to leave is have both sides agree to overturn it with superseding legislation. [208]

This did not please Parliament mainly because the Government defied a Humble Address which was seen by SNP MP Peter Grant as a "Government who have already taken a dangerous step down the road from democracy to dictatorship".[209] Later on the 4th of December 2018, the House of Commons ruled the UK Government was in Contempt of Parliament for refusing to publish the full legal advice it had been given by the Attorney General.[210] And the following day, the advice was published.[211] The advice revealed that the UK could possibly be in "protracted and repeating rounds of negotiations" and confirmed that the backstop would endure indefinitely unless superseded by arrangements which complied with International Law. [212] [213] As a measure of how fucked things are, note that this is the first time the UK's sitting government has ever been found in contempt of parliament.

Unmeaningful Vote

Theresa May is well known for her recent tunnel vision, always insisting that her "This is the best possible deal, it is the only possible deal",[214] even though she earlier stated "no deal is better than a bad deal". [215] Showing that her advisers don't understand consistency and her denial about her deal being bad. In Theresa's usual fashion for inconsistency and confusing everyone, she pulled the "Meaningful Vote" [216] (where in which MPs get to vote on her deal) [217] because she knew she would lose. This went down really really well with everyone and it was Ian Blackford,the SNP Westminster leader's, turn to accuse Theresa May of Dictatorship. [218]

This was so utterly confusing because the Leader of the House of Commons and sources at Number 10 were saying the vote was still going on up until the day before the vote.[219] [220] In response Labour demanded an emergency debate on her pulling the vote [221] which resulted in a Leadership Challenge from her own party by the end of the next day. [222]

She Survives!

Theresa won the No Confidence vote from her own party, with 200 out of 317 of them voting against the motion. [223] Her power was greatly wounded by this motion and also by operating in what was essentially a minority government. The vote ingrained divisions within the Conservative Party, with the Chancellor of the Exchequer calling Brexiteers "extremists".[224] This motion of No Confidence was mainly tabled by the influential European Research GroupWikipedia whose most prominent member, Jacob Rees-Mogg, called for the Prime Minister to resign even after winning the No Confidence Motion. [225]

Oh, It's EU Again

Theresa May was welcomed back to Brussels with isolation and being called "nebulous" by Jean Claude Juncker [226] [227]. The reception from the party who were propping her up was also a little frosty with its Leader, Arlene Foster, saying to get rid of the backstop. [228] However, that seemed pretty much impossible as both Jean Claude Juncker and Donald Tusk had said that renegotiation could not happen. [229] [230] To make it worse it was reported that May did not prepare for meetings with EU leaders [231] and she even put off some EU figures from ever talking to the British Government again. [232] She also managed to make the EU go back on their previous agreements, eliminating positive language and an entire sentence of reassurances. [233]

Labour table a Vote of Confidence..Or do they?

Pressure had been building on the opposition leader, Jeremy Corbyn, [234] [235] to force a No Confidence vote in the Government. On the 17th of December 2018 he finally gave in [236], but tabled a motion that referred specifically to the Prime Minister rather than the Government as a whole, which was significantly less intimidating. Even worse for him, this political misfire was apparently called off at the last minute in much the same way as the "Meaningful Vote" earlier. [237] This weird turn of events might be explained by the fact that top Shadow Cabinet members in Labour were split on when to table the motion of No Confidence. [238] Number 10 responded by dismissing the motion and refusing to table a debate on the issue. [239]

Is the Vote Meaningful Yet?

After cancelling the vote the first time like an insolent child, Theresa May promised that the vote was definitely, totally, absolutely going ahead now on January the 15th 2019. [240] For once Theresa didn't lie, I'm shocked too.

Timeline Part 4: New Year, New Crisis

Can the Government Win Anything?

Well, apparently not. Yvette Cooper, a Labour MP, and a cross-party alliance of 20 Tory rebels defeated the Government on a finance bill - something that last happened in 1978 and another impressive milestone in the May "Government". This defeat was marginal (by 7) but meant that the Government couldn't raise money for a No Deal Brexit without prior Parliamentary Approval. [241] [242]

John Bercow Makes His Own Party Mad

According to Parliamentary procedure a Speaker can select Amendments to existing legislation at his own discretion. [243] One Amendment that was selected was submitted by former Attorney General Dominic Greive, and this Amendment was also voted through the house. The Amendment was that, in the event of Theresa's deal being voted down, she would have to come back with a plan B within three Parliamentary Days instead of 21. [244] The issue here was that the Speaker chose that Amendment over others, giving the impression to Tory MPs and some in the media that the Speaker was biased in favour of Remain. [245] Suspicion was further raised after Commons Clerks had advised him against selecting the Amendment, [246] as they wanted him to submit his legal advice in the same vein Geoffrey Cox was forced to. [247]

Window Dressing

In an attempt to woo over idiot MPs and Union Leaders Theresa May finally reached out. [248] Now if it had been 18 months earlier this would have been great but the withdrawal agreement had already been closed and could not be edited. [249] As a result, all of her promises were not legally binding and could have been binned as soon as the withdrawal agreement went through Parliament.

Part 1: The Hugo Swire Amendment

This allowed the DUP and Sinn Féin to basically veto the backstop, although neither were impressed with the Amendment[250]. Nice work, Hugo.

Part 2: The John Mann Amendment

John Mann, a Labour backbencher and MP for Bassetlaw [251], along with Caroline Flint and Gareth Snell, suggested an Amendent to keep worker's right consistent with the EU. [252] Again this is nice and a testament to how little the Conservative Party care about workers' rights to begin with. But unless John Mann and his cronies were going to go to Brussels themselves to get it included in the Withdrawal Agreement, it wouldn't have been legally binding anyway.

Stoke-Brexit-Fear-On-Trent

On the day before her Brexit vote Mrs May made a speech outlining to MPs why they should vote for her deal. She splattered in her catchphrases like her deal is "the only deal on the table", voting for deal is the only way to avoid "no deal". There's a new one too, failing to vote for her deal will apparently destroy public trust and lead to brexit being "fustrated" or there being no Brexit at all. [253] In a moment of complete hilarity Theresa claimed that Parliament always listened to the public when they make direct votes, comparing the EU Referendum to the Welsh Assembly Referendum. [254] It was the unfortunate because it was a pack of lies. The Conservatives tried to get rid of the Welsh Assembly during pledges in the 2005 election. [255] Also during the speech she unveiled the new reassurances she got from the EU about the backstop, these assurances according to both Tusk and May have "legal weight". [256] However there has been no changes to the Withdrawal Agreement Treaty, so its legal weight is dubious at best.

DUP Response

As you would expect the DUP were ecstatic, Nigel Dodds said that "Rather than reassure us, the Tusk and Juncker letter bolsters our concerns." [257] Sammy Wilson wasn't amused either telling the BBC that the deal was designed to trap the UK in the EU. [258] At least the DUP committed to voting for them in the event of a no confidence motion, Sammy said that he "doesn't want a change of Government only of policy." [259] That's probably because they got about £1 billion pounds from May's government as of 2017. [260]

Brexit D-Day

Theresa May lost the Brexit Deal vote by 230, after the losing the vote Theresa faced an actual confidence vote by Jeremy Corbyn. [261] Because Theresa May is like a zombie that can't die she won the confidence vote by 19. [262]

Timeline Part 5: Plan B or Plan A Again But Brexit Day is Closer

It only took two years of being ignorant of other people's opinions for Theresa May to realise she might want to discuss Brexit options with other people. Although people who met with her quickly realised that she isn't willing to compromise on anything or consider any different strategies. [263] The issue here is what has been referred to her "red lines", basically these are the stipulations which she required for a deal (leaving the costumes union, ending free movement) and it has been revealed that this terrible deal she has gotten is a direct result of her "red lines". [264] These red lines are a result of Theresa May trying her hardest to the keep the Conservative Party together, as Tory Brexiteers will resign and leave the party if she considers Labour's idea of a Customs Union. [265]

Have You Been Talking With Hamas Again Jeremy?

One person who declined to talk with PM was leader of the opposition Jeremy Corbyn, which sparked a meme of "Jeremy Corbyn spoke to Hamas and IRA, but won’t talk to Theresa May". [266] Although in fairness to Theresa May, Jez doesn't want to compromise either (great PR look for Labour, again). So we're in a situation what I like to call 'Compromise Wars' where no one wants to blink first. Jeremy was eventually forced to talk with Theresa May, this unsurprisingly amounted to nothing. [267]

Timeline Part 6: Renegotiating a Deal Which You Agreed To Without The Other Party, aka Unicorn Hunting

If the EU don't want to renegotiate, why not renegotiate by yourself? That's what the UK Government are basically doing when proposing supposed solutions to the backstop. Although don't point out that there aren't any easy solutions because that's negative thinking apparently. [268] These alternative solutions are fantasy basically, it was even debunked by Theresa May two days before the Referendum. [269] Leo Varadkar shot down the assertion of finding alternate arrangements to the backstop (AGAIN), [270] this was basically echoed by Juncker. [271]

Meaningful Vote Part 1.5: Parliamentary Unicorn Hunting

On the 29th of January 2019, MPs voted for the Graham Brady Amendment. This Amendment stipulates that the Prime Minister should negotiate alternatives to the backstop [272]. Great, except (and to sound like a broken record) the EU have said again that you can't change the backstop because it's no longer a backstop [273] and that the you can't reopen the legally binding Withdrawal Agreement [274] [275]. But don't worry there's people in the EU who want to reopen the Withdrawal Agreement, MPs just can't pronounce their names. [276]

Theresa May's "Battle for Britain"

Writing in The Sunday Times Theresa May, says she will "Battle for Britain in Brussels". [277] She still says the backstop can be solved by "putting a time limit on it", [278] however Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar says this is not possible. [279] There were rumours Juncker might have been softening on a time limit, these were bollocks. [280] This World War Two allegory she's going with will surely help negotiations with Brussels.

Unicorn Hunting In Northern Ireland

Theresa May visited Northern Ireland on the 5th of February 2019 to discuss the Backstop.[281] As you were expecting they didn't lead anywhere constructive.[282] Theresa May has decided that trying to remove the backstop isn't her best option, [283] [284] so her only option is legally fudging it something that ERG Brexiteers or the DUP [285] like (hell even Sinn Féin hate it.) [286] By trying to appeal the DUP exclusively she's managed to make no one happy.[287] What a shining example of competency, as always Theresa.

Please Go Away Britain

I don't have to tell you what happened when Theresa May went back to the EU again. The only difference is that now Brexit day is closer leading to Theresa May being rightfully accused of "running down the clock".[288]

Meaningful Vote 1.75: The Start of the Tory Civil War

The ERG voted against a motion because it felt it took "no deal off the table" and abstained so the Government lost. [289] This was also an attempt to push the Malthouse compromise, to the EU this just means more doubts.[290] The Tory Truce has officially broken.[291]

Timeline Part 7: Delaying the Inevitable

High Noon Cancelled

Damage Control

Mrs May had to cancel the 2nd Meaningful Vote (again, shocking). [292] There were threats from remain cabinet ministers who were going to resign if no deal wasn't "taken off the table" (this metaphorical table gets on my nerves). [293].

'Next negotiation will be for Bake Off'

Apparently only two cabinet ministers like her now (I'm surprised it's that many). [294] People are starting to speculate who will replace her, in the running:

  • Human mop and child abuse dismisser [295] Boris Johnson
  • Lip filler Michael Gove
  • Brexiteer with zero principles, [296] David Davis
  • Damp rag and second of the three Brexit Secretaries, Dominic Raab
  • 'I Caused the Junior Doctors Strike' Jeremy Hunt
  • Sajid 'I let a baby die because his mum was groomed by ISIS' Javid
  • Andrea Leadsom who hates women who don't have kids [297]
  • Nearly competent Matthew Hancock
  • 'I'm a national and international fuck up and should be nowhere near Government. How the fuck am I not unemployed, homeless and starving?' Chris Grayling

A real hot bed of political talent inside the Conservative Party.

Brexit Timetable

She then put forward this timetable to try and quell uproar in her own party.

  • 12th of March 2019 - Meaningful Vote Two
  • 13th of March 2019 - Symbolic No Deal Vote
  • 14th of March 2019 - Extension Vote

[298]

Timeline Part 8: Meaningful Vote 2.0: Damage Control Didn't Work

She lost by 149, instead of 230. However this is a still a big margin, any rational person would just give up [299]

Keeping the Conservative Party Together, Somehow

She has to keep the Brexiteers and Remainers together in the same party, good luck to her. She attempted this with these series of votes (mentioned in the Brexit Timetable section) so prevent MPs from leaving the party:

The 'Free Vote' No Deal Vote

This vote is a 'free vote' meaning MPs can vote however they want [300]

Mrs May and the Chancellor Attack Brexiteers

The day started off well, Chancellor Philip Hammond used his Spring statement to openly attack no deal. [301] Lizz Truss who works underneath Philip Hammond rejected that idea, [302] showing splits within Government Departments. He also wants a cross party compromise.

Mrs May told Jeremy Corbyn at Prime Minister's Questions that she would vote for her own motion (so against no deal). [303] Definitely healing the divisions in the Tory Party.

What The Hell is Happening?

Er, so Cabinet Ministers voted against the Government but didn't get fired. [304] The Tory whips demanded that the Conservatives didn't vote for the Caroline Spelman Amendment to the main no deal motion which stipulated that no deal should happen at no time, it passed 312 to 308. [305]

The 'Free Vote' on Malthouse

Oh yeah Malthouse is back, [306] as you can see a lot has changed. [307] It was voted down, Malthouse is dead again.

The Extension Vote: Oh My God She Actually Won Something

Hilary Benn Amendment

Would have given MPs direct control of Brexit, using a series of indicative votes to determine what MPs really want. But alas it was not to be. [308] Small victory for May, Boo!

The Main Motion: Will We Leave on March the 29th?

A majority of 211 voted to delay Brexit, [309] for how long? Well first MPs don't have a unilateral right to delay Brexit, that's up to each of the 27 member states to give the UK permission. [310] Legally the UK still leaves on March the 29th (as of the 18th of March 2019).

Timeline Part 9: NO, I'd Rather Dive Head First Into a Pit of Crocodiles

Meaningful vote three is happening (maybe?), makes me ill thinking about it. [311] [312] It all depends on whether the DUP budge, don't bet on it. But it's likely it will be cancelled. [313] [314]

Gutter Politics

Who needs good policies and genuine reaching out when you could just bribe people? This is what Theresa May is doing to both the ERG and the DUP. The ERG are being "wooed" over by being able to edit the Withdrawal Agreement Bill, you know not legally binding. [315] While the DUP are apparently being bribed with money. [316] True integrity.

Timeline Part 10: The Entr'acte

So, May finally realized that she won't be getting anywhere with Parliament and the DUP, and suffered from rock-bottom approval ratings. Just like Cameron, she decided, "Blow the whole thing", and left behind the mess for others to solve.[317]

Enter the... Brexit Boy

Before May's resignation on June 7th, the Tory leadership election had to take place. The winner - dear old Boris. Kinda deserved, given that the person who started the whole thing should be the one to clean up the mess. He started really well, by losing his first seven[318] more than[319] eight[320] parliamentary votes and a Supreme Court case that ruled he (or more accurately his pet Victorian Jacob Rees-Mogg) lied to the Queen[321].

Out with the traitors!

These defeats began a series of witch-hunts within the Tories. First to go were the liberal wing of the Party, who kept defying his whip on Brexit. In September, 21 Tory MPs had their whip withdrawn - i.e., they were not Tories anymore.[322] Next was John Bercow, whose term as speaker ended in November. By convention, the outgoing speaker should get a seat in the House of Lords, but you could guess what happened this time.[323]

The November Election

See the main article on this topic: 2019 United Kingdom general election

With Parliament still an intractable mess for him, Boris wanted an election. The price was the postponement of Brexit to January 2020, which he was forced to accept. With the election scheduled for 12th December, 2019, the cockfights election campaigns now began.

The Parties

This is, in essence, your guide to the candidates:

  • The Tories : If you really wanted Brexit, didn't care about Northern Ireland, didn't mind one big liar remaining as PM, were okay about your healthcare going for a toss and didn't mind the casual Islamophobia and racism.
  • Labour : If you didn't mind a totally chaotic position on Brexit, didn't mind a far-left loony (who was also photographed holding a wreath near the graves of terrorists) becoming PM, were fine with driving wealth creators out of Britain and didn't mind the casual antisemitism.
  • The Liberal Democrats: If you badly wanted Remain. This should have been the go-to for Remainers, but their leader, Jo Swinson, did a brilliant job of destroying herself on the campaign trail, so you'll see about that in a minute.
  • The SNP : ARRR! Scotland forever! Free Scotlaaaaand!!!! Scotland in the EU!
  • Brexit Party : NOOOOOOOO So this was Farage's new boat, when he decided that his beloved Brexit was in danger. He basically sunk it when he declared that he would stand down his candidates against sitting Tory MPs.
The End

After a complete clusterfuck of a campaign, which included Boris hiding in fridges to avoid debates, Corbyn talking in duck-speak when it came to Brexit and antisemitism, Swinson pissing off nearly everyone and taking her approval ratings underwater, and Farage, as usual, making a lot of noise but little impact, it was time for voting. When the results were out, the Tories had swept the country, trouncing nearly everyone else; the SNP swept Scotland, trouncing everyone else there, but Boris got his majority, which meant that the SNP wouldn't get any bargaining room.

And yes, the Lib Dems. They were destroyed for the third time in a general election, and were reduced to eleven seats, with Swinson losing her own seat.[324]

Timeline Part 11: Up, up and... away?

So yes, Boris got his majority, and implemented a half-baked deal that involved a one-year transition period, a hard Brexit and loss of access to the Single Market, and a trade border down the Irish Sea. So on 31st January, 2021, Britain left the EU, and the whole chaotic saga was at last, for good or bad, over. Or so we thought.

Trade negotiations (a.k.a. staring competitions)

For all his bullshitting about an "oven-ready deal"[325], the fact was that Boris' deal was an imperfect and messy one with many loopholes left to fill. So began the trade negotiations, between the equally arrogant and stubborn British and EU negotiating sides.

Temporary amnesia

While Brexit was on everyone's minds, attention shifted for the next few months to two things - COVID-19, from China, and the George Floyd protests, from the US - both were now in Britain as well. Boris, too, was now busy trying to make himself look good - his opponent was no longer a nutcase, but the highly talented and skilled Keir Starmer, who roasted him in PMQ after PMQ.[326] Meanwhile, the negotiation teams did not budge in their respective positions, and continued to stare at each other at every negotiation conference like a bunch of griffins.[327]

Time for some Russian roulette

Around September, however, everyone started to look at Brexit once again - the BLM protests were subsiding, the end of the one-year period was getting closer, and Covid was (apparently) peaking off. The negotiators, however, continued the griffin-staring contest, into October, November, the first week of December, the second week, the third week, the 20th, the 21st, the 22nd, the 23rd, the 24th... and all the while, the whole world was watching them nervously. Farage, as usual, saw an opportunity for mischief and started making noises again.

The final, definitive - end?

Someone finally talked some sense into them, and they came up with... another hotch-potch deal. One of the main sticking points was the right the EU had to catch British fish - a lightning rod for Brexiteers. In the end, they came to a weird compromise, with Britain getting full rights over 25% of the catch and the EU getting the rest. And there will be another transition period, at the end of which fishing rights will revert fully back to Britain. As always, Boris will keep his word on that.Do You Believe That?

Side Plots

Stop Brexit?

The European Court of Justice ruled that the UK was able to unilaterally revoke Article 50, though Theresa May ruled that out. [328] [329]

You Stupid Woman... Or People?

In a serious case of rearranging deck chairs while the Titanic is sinking, a ridiculous controversy occurred on the 19th of December edition of Prime Minister's Questions. Much like that dress that people couldn't decide the colour of, people couldn't decide whether Jeremy Corbyn called Theresa May a "stupid woman" or if he called the Conservative Party "stupid people". [330] While technically not being wrong in either instance, if he did say stupid woman this not be a good look for him - not least because of him being a self identified ardent feminist who wants half of MPs to be women. [331] Leader of the House of Commons, Andrea Leadsom complained to Speaker John Bercow after the incident went viral on Twitter. She also pointed out to John Bercow that he had said the exact same thing to her but didn't apologise. [332] Tory members demanded for Jeremy Corbyn to return to the chamber to apologise for his comments. [333] which lead to this iconic image [334] During the interim, Shadow International Trade Secretary and general idiot Barry Gardiner told the BBC that Corbyn did appear to say "stupid woman".[335]. In an instance of a complete lack of PR control Barry Gardiner didn't say the correct party line, Jeremy's spokesperson told the media he said "Stupid People". [336] There was pointless speculation by lip readers and lip speakers who said conflicting things. [337] [338] [339] Not of that mattered because when Jeremy came back into the chamber, he denied all the allegations against him. [340] Another day of Brexit was wasted,which is a microcosm of the problem all along. Time wasting.

Donald Tusk Makes a Lot of People Mad

Donald Tusk said an inflammatory controversial thing and everyone got mad.[341] When I say everyone I mean Conservatives and the DUP.[342][343] The best we got was a woolly response from Juncker saying that he believed in Heaven.[344] But don't worry the EU is open and in "listening mode".[345]

Brexit Bribery

As a sign of how hard Austerity has been on the country Labour Leave MPs like Bassetlaw's John Mann are asking the government for money in return for their vote. [346] This great show of principle has gone down really really well. [347] [348] A poor show for the integrity of UK Politics.

Brexit the Queen?

There's a plan to evacuate the Queen in case there's Brexit riots. [349]

Conclusions so far

  • Theresa May resigned as Prime Minister effective the 7th of June 2019,[350] after having warned she wouldn't be Prime Minister by the time the next election comes around [351]
  • If her successor gets a deal to pass which has a backstop in it, the government will collapse because the DUP will abandon the Conservatives [352]
  • Neither of the frontrunners to replace May as of July 2019, Boris Johnson or Jeremy Hunt, appeared equipped to deal with Brexit.
  • Nagging the EU for more concessions will make no-deal more likely.
  • Theresa May maybe have done a shitty job, but a shitty job is all the UK have got.

Useful Links

This article or section could benefit from more vandalism - as could France. Symbol.png
  • Conservative Party - Just a little internal dispute...
  • Anti-intellectualism — "Reads the Sun/Express/Mail" and "supports Brexit" are correlated traits among the voters in this country.
  • Free trade — After a generation of incredibly cheap consumer goods, we're reaching a tipping point where the average voter has no tangible concept of inflation's effects on these things.
  • GibraltarWikipediaSpain now wants joint ownership of this peninsula[353] and Gibraltar may secede to unify with Scotland in order to rejoin the EU.[354]
  • Irexit - An laughable attempt to do the same in Ireland.
  • London — The UK's capital which now has its own fringe independence movement.[355] This is similar to the Scottish independence referendum of 2014,[356] whereby the city of Manchester found itself 72% in favour of joining Scotland, for some reason.[357]
  • Scottish National Party — Some Scots are now suggesting to leave the UK for real should the Brexit happen in order to apply for EU membership as Scotland.
  • Sinn Féin — A nationalist party in Northern Ireland. Voiced support for a referendum on Northern Ireland joining the Republic of Ireland if the UK left the EU,[358] although that is essentially their aim as a party anyway.
  • George Soros — The billionaire hedge funder who "broke" the Bank of England by betting against the pound has, again, made money from betting against Britain.[359]
  • RationalWiki:Leaving and never coming back

Brexternal links

See also

Breferences

  1. Harris on Twitter
  2. "Reaping the Whirlwind: Tribalism Trumps Neoliberalism", Crooked Timber 6.26.16.
  3. EU referendum: Cameron sets June date for UK vote David Cameron sets the date
  4. Vince
  5. Telegraph explanation
  6. What Is It?
  7. EU Press Release
  8. According to NIESR
  9. Chequers
  10. Statement
  11. [1]
  12. What is it?
  13. Reality Check
  14. Resignation Speech
  15. What?
  16. David Davis Named
  17. Look at the List
  18. Don't Let the Door hit you on the way out
  19. Domonic Raab appointed
  20. Bye
  21. President Tusk Elected
  22. Government Publication
  23. Thomas Buchanan
  24. David Simpson and Paul Given
  25. Sammy Wilson, the environment secretary at the time
  26. Same-sex marriage has been legal in the rest of the UK since around 2014, and in Ireland since 2015
  27. Abortion has been legal in England and Wales, at least, since 1967
  28. DUP health minister thinks that unborn babies shouldn't be punished for rape
  29. In the EU's Own Words
  30. In the EU's Own Words
  31. Who Are They?
  32. Parliament Biography
  33. Juncker Elected
  34. Long Time
  35. [2]
  36. After leading Labour to their worst election results in around 84 years
  37. From EU Website
  38. Former Leader
  39. This though
  40. BBC Newsnight
  41. Government Explanation
  42. Single Market
  43. Oh god another one
  44. Norman Smith BBC's Twitter
  45. Why though?
  46. Business Times
  47. The number
  48. Gerard Batton
  49. Bye Vince
  50. Withdrawal Agreement
  51. Government Explanation
  52. Norway don't want the UK in the EEA
  53. Boris Johnson Doesn't Know What He's Talking About
  54. ONS About UK Trade
  55. It has cross party appeal at least
  56. Yes Really
  57. Ugh
  58. I Cried With Laughter Honestly
  59. I just cried
  60. What a nob
  61. tariffs
  62. No deal taroffs
  63. EU Rebuffs
  64. New Logo
  65. Remember the Conseravtives are the party of Business
  66. No deal will be apparently really bad
  67. Are They Being Paid off by the EU ?1?1
  68. Ulster Unionist Video
  69. Background on Powersharing and how it fell apart
  70. Leo Varadkar on no deal
  71. Troops at Border
  72. Leo Varadkar on Brexit deal and backstop
  73. [https://twitter.com/nickeardleybbc/status/1093857848705142785?s=19 United Ireland ]
  74. Angela Merkel Leo Varadkar
  75. Brexit Purist
  76. This Photo Hurts
  77. Another Brexit Purist
  78. Brexit Puritans
  79. ERG
  80. Party Within a Party
  81. Andrew Marr Interview
  82. Brexit Destroy Science
  83. NO-DEAL BREXIT WARNING: Frustrated EU loses faith in UK - '90 PERCENT chance of no-deal'
  84. Her cabinet are not united at all
  85. Secret Tories
  86. Very Confusing
  87. Labour's terms for backing deal
  88. Chris Leslie mad
  89. '"democracy"
  90. ""Democracy""
  91. Oh dear oh dear
  92. Yay?
  93. Ruled Out
  94. Sort of
  95. Splits Galore
  96. Rules Out 2nd Vote
  97. Euro-sceptic Corbyn
  98. We Do Not Want To Live in a European Empire
  99. No Starmer in sight
  100. Poll Result
  101. Emily Thornberry wrote an Article in the Gaurdian
  102. PMQs Feb 6th 2019
  103. Emily v David Lidington
  104. Marsha de Cordova Rebel
  105. Snap Election
  106. Calls for General Election
  107. Stupid Compromise
  108. What is it?
  109. This is actually nonsense
  110. Still nonsense
  111. Steve Baker Tweet
  112. Deluded
  113. Article 50 Options
  114. Is it possible to stop Brexit?
  115. Lots of Options
  116. Stopping No Deal Brexit
  117. [3]
  118. Nigel Farage Says No Riots
  119. Poor Thing
  120. Shut up Tony
  121. people's vote in his twitter name
  122. Vince Cable's Position
  123. Green Position
  124. Soubry's Position
  125. 2nd Referendumer
  126. More Contradictions
  127. UKIP: The story of the UK Independence Party's rise
  128. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-27567744
  129. David Cameron promises in/out referendum on EU
  130. David Cameron vows earlier EU referendum if Tories win election
  131. David Cameron's four key demands to remain in the EU revealed
  132. Cameron's letter to Donald Tusk
  133. Gov Opinions
  134. Project Fear
  135. Project Fear 2
  136. Via Sky News (featured on the official Vote Leave campaign website for a bit). The irony is the ECoHR is not even an EU document - it is condition for joining the Council of EuropeWikipedia, which has fuck-all to do with the EU and which none of the Brexiteers has even mentioned, let alone stated an intention of leaving.
  137. See the Wikipedia article on Vote Leave.
  138. We need to find a new way to pay for healthcare, TaxPayers Alliance, January 22, 2015
  139. See the Wikipedia article on Gisela Stuart.
  140. See the Wikipedia article on Michael Forsyth, Baron Forsyth of Drumlean.
  141. See the Wikipedia article on Bernard Jenkin.
  142. [4], BBC, 26 April
  143. "Why Vote Leave beat Grassroots Out". BBC News. Retrieved on 1 July 2016.
  144. Crace, John (19 February 2016). "Grassroots Out unites politicians – the ones we normally try to avoid". the Guardian. 
  145. Bloom, Dan (22 May 2016). "This Brexit group targeted National Front supporters for votes on Facebook". The Mirror. 
  146. The more we learn about Brexit, the more crooked it looks by Anne Applebaum (March 8, 2019 at 6:23 PM) The Washington Post
  147. Brexit The Movie, Kickstarter
  148. Main page of the official SDP website. Archived 1 July 2016.
    The SDP were a centrist split from the Labour Party during a time of internal infighting over a left-wing leaderWikipedia perceived as unelectable by his party, advocating unilateral nuclear disarmament and traditional socialist policies. (Nothing like that would happen now, of course...) Eventually, the SDP and Liberal Party merged to be the Liberal Democrats, but there are continuity SDP and Liberal parties in the UK who rejected that alliance.
  149. "Ignore voices of doom over Brexit, says Lord Owen". BBC News. Retrieved on 1 July 2016.
  150. Better Off Out, TFA website
  151. "Left Leave – Campaign for a UK left exit from the EU". leftleave.org. Retrieved on 1 July 2016.
  152. "Labour Leave campaign funded by right-wing Tory donors, including supporters of Taxpayers’ Alliance". politicalscrapbook.net. Retrieved on 1 July 2016.
  153. "The problem of the Labour Leave campaign makes sense when you find out who's funding it". thecanary.co. 2 June 2016. Retrieved on 1 July 2016.
  154. John Cleese (11 June 2016). "Tweet Number 741741834003709953". Twitter. "If I thought there was any chance of major reform in the EU,I'd vote to stay in.But there isn't.Sad.Sorry,Paddy." 
  155. John Cleese appeared in party broadcasts for the SDP/Liberal alliance in 1987, as well as for the Liberal Democrats in 1997, when a certain Antony Blair gained a landslide majority with a majority of 179 seats. Still, ever loyal to his principles, Cleese continued to campaign for the Lib Dems in the 2015 general election, when the party went from 58 to 8 seats. Although, honestly, if you're a Lib Dem and you don't support your party on the EU, what really is the point in staying loyal to your party?
  156. Such as this Facebook post by BNP West London (archived).
  157. "Cameron: David Icke-style conspiracy on EU ref is nonsense." RT UK. (3 March 2016, 7:38.)
  158. Dugdale, John (11 June 2016). "Hilary Mantel's in, David Starkey's out: the literary battle of Brussels". 
  159. Quinn, Ben (13 August 2011). "David Starkey claims 'the whites have become black'". The Guardian. 
  160. Grimston, Jack; Loveys, Kate (24 June 2012). "Starkey erupts in racism rumpus". The Sunday Times. 
  161. "Isis praises Brexit in propaganda newspaper". The Independent. 29 June 2016. Retrieved on 1 July 2016.
  162. Faiola, Anthony, "Europe's New Energizer Bunny of Hate", WaPo 5.27.14.
  163. "'Poland is Dying Under EU Occupation': Warsaw Should Follow British Suit", Sputnik News (5/31/16 at 4:38 pm, updated 4:57 pm).
  164. "Korwin-Mikke too Extreme For Frances's Le Pen", Radio Poland (6/25/14 at 10:02).
  165. "Brexit 'most important moment since Berlin Wall': Le Pen". BBC News. Retrieved on 1 July 2016.
  166. "Marine Le Pen Prepares for a “Frexit”". New Yorker. 29 June 2016. Retrieved on 1 July 2016.
  167. Oliveira, Ivo, "National Front seeks Russian cash for election fight", Politico (2/19/16 at 1:53 PM CET, updated 2/19/16, 1:58 PM CET).
  168. Kharchenko, Aleksandra, "Paul Manafort, Donald Trump’s top adviser, and his ties to pro-Russian politicians in Ukraine", Politifact (5/2/16 at 2:17 p.m.).
  169. Vaux, Pierre, "Why Putin is Meddling in Britain's Brexit Vote", Daily Beast (6/07/16 ay 10:00 PM ET).
  170. "Stein calls Britain Vote a Wake-up Call". jill2016.com. Retrieved on 1 July 2016. (Hahahah, nice try, Jill. Here is the original version.)
  171. http://www.newsweek.com/donald-trump-jr-jill-stein-putin-russia-senate-639422
  172. Savanskry, Rebecca, "Trump hits Clinton for attacks after '100% wrong' Brexit prediction", The Hill (6/26/16 at 08:13 am).
  173. 'It'll all work out with your wall, your border' - Trump on Brexit. RTE News. Retrieved on 5 June 2019
  174. Trump: 'NHS on the table in US-UK trade deal'. BBC News. Retrieved on 5 June 2019
  175. Geert Wilders (02 May 2016). "Tweet Number 727080550113132546". Twitter. "I hope the proud British people vote for regaining national sovereignty instead of more Brussels on June 23. #Brexit https://t.co/6hHIjbrKmx" 
  176. "Fact Check: Vote Leave's £350m A Week Claim Wrong", LBC 6.13.16.
  177. Theresa May Takes Your Calls On LBC: Watch In Full
  178. maybe actually bankers
  179. 20,000 over the next 5 years. Source:BBC
  180. Immigration and the UK Labour Market Centre for Economic Performance
  181. If it ain’t broke don’t Brexit – Migration Stats Paint by the Numbers Politics
  182. The British in Europe – and Vice Versa Migration Watch UK
  183. Frum, David, "Why Britain Left", The Atlantic 7.24.16.
  184. "Do immigrants pay more in taxes than they claim in benefits and service", FullFact 2.9.16.
  185. "Reality Check: Would Brexit mean cuts to pensions, defence and the NHS?", BBC 6.12.16.
  186. "Why did older voters choose Brexit? It’s a matter of identity", The Conversation (6/25/16 at 2:36pm EDT).
  187. UK has fewer doctors per person than most other OECD countries, British Medical Journal, 20 June 2017
  188. Healthcare personnel statistics - dentists, pharmacists and physiotherapists, Eurostat, 2018
  189. Class size, teacher's pay and spending: which countries spend the most and pay the least in education?, The Guardian, 2012
  190. House building in England, Full Fact, 22 Mar 2018
  191. http://www.nytimes.com/2016/06/19/world/europe/thomas-mair-jo-cox-murder-charge-britain-court-appearance.html?&_r=0
  192. https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2016/jun/16/labour-mp-jo-cox-shot-in-west-yorkshire
  193. http://edition.cnn.com/2016/06/16/europe/british-mp-jo-cox-attacked/
  194. https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2016/nov/23/thomas-mair-found-guilty-of-jo-cox-murder
  195. Brexit poll tracker Financial Times From this to this.
  196. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business/market_data/currency/11/12/intraday.stm
  197. 197.0 197.1 http://www.bbc.com/news/business-36611512 Stock collapse
  198. He said the situation was “business as usual”
  199. He Resigns
  200. Liar
  201. Tories Lose Majority
  202. Striking that faithful deal
  203. Attorney General questioned on Brexit legal advice Attorney General questioned on Brexit legal advice
  204. Geoffrey Cox makes statement to MPs about Brexit legal advice
  205. Moment Attorney General Geoffrey Cox tells opposition to 'grow up and get real' over withheld Brexit legal advice
  206. Brexit explained: Why does the Border matter and what is the backstop?
  207. DUP fears Brexit deal will break up UK - Foster flies to London as May prepares to face Cabinet
  208. Brexit deal latest news: Being 'indefinitely committed' to backstop a risk worth taking, Attorney General tells MPs
  209. Peter Grant
  210. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-46435128
  211. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-46451970
  212. U.K. legal advice confirms London can’t unilaterally leave Brexit backstop
  213. Screenshots of the Legal Advice
  214. Theresa May: 'This is the best possible deal, it is the only possible deal'
  215. Contradictions
  216. Theresa May delays vote on Brexit deal and admits she faced 'significant' defeat
  217. What is the 'meaningful vote' on Brexit?
  218. Ian Blackford
  219. Mixed Signals.html
  220. BBC News Political Editor
  221. Labour Demands Debate
  222. Sir Graham Brady Confirms She is Facing Leadership Challenge
  223. Graham Brady says she won
  224. [5] Philip Hammond calls Brexiteers Extremists]
  225. Mogg says Resign
  226. Poor Theresa
  227. Poor Theresa 2
  228. Arelene Foster Tweet
  229. Juncker
  230. Tusk
  231. Jon Stone Tweet
  232. Political Editor of BBC's Newsnight
  233. Europe Editor of the Daily Telegraph
  234. Backbench Labour MP
  235. SNP puts Pressure on Jez
  236. Jeremy Gives In
  237. Confusion
  238. Does Labour Know What it Thinks?
  239. No Time for Corbyn
  240. Government background
  241. Brexit: 20 Tory rebels inflict no-deal defeat on government
  242. Theresa May’s government becomes first to lose Finance Bill vote since 1978 – full list of Tory MPs who voted to thwart No Deal Brexit
  243. Official Parliamentary Procedure
  244. Brexit: what is the ‘game-changer’ Grieve amendment?
  245. We now know John Bercow is as out of control as Brexit itself
  246. Brexit: what does the latest parliamentary upset mean for Theresa May?
  247. Commons Speaker John Bercow accused of flouting rules to thwart Brexit: Fury at ruling
  248. Theresa May reaches out to unions and Labour MPs in unprecedented bid to force deal through
  249. Theresa May not expecting 'breakthrough' on Brexit deal at EU summit – as it happened
  250. Northern politicians unimpressed with Tory MP’s backstop amendment
  251. [https://www.theyworkforyou.com/mp/11093/john_mann/bassetlaw John Mann Labour MP for Bassetlaw
  252. Desperate Theresa May caves in on workers' rights to save Brexit deal
  253. Prime Minister in Stoke-on-Trent LIVE: Theresa May at Portmeirion for key speech ahead of Brexit deal vote
  254. BBC Politics May's Speech
  255. [https://twitter.com/stephenkb/status/1084602078419476482 New Statesmen Journalist Refutes May's claims]
  256. EU letter seeks to reassure UK on Irish border backstop
  257. Nigel Dodds' Comment on the Letter
  258. BBC Sammy Wilson Interview 1
  259. Sammy Wilson Interview 2 Decryption Key = G3F0HxPinFJVSHPXEQ-0oluH1rzBxWUu57qqovWqSBk
  260. DUP deal: How much extra money has the party extracted from Theresa May? And is it fair?
  261. Is anyone Surprised?
  262. Will She Ever Go Away
  263. May Won't Change Her Mind
  264. The Deal Being Bad is Theresa May's Fault
  265. No Compromise Here
  266. Bad Meme
  267. Pointless
  268. Jeremy Hunt Quote From the BBC's Today Program
  269. Theresa May Contradicts Theresa May
  270. He Must Get Bored of Saying the Same Words
  271. Juncker Echo
  272. This won't work
  273. Barnier Quote
  274. The EU Say No, Again
  275. How Much Do You Want It Spelled Out?
  276. Channel 4 News Interview
  277. Oh God
  278. Fantasy
  279. How Many Times Does She Need to Be Told?
  280. Don't get your hopes up
  281. PM to Visit Northern Ireland-ITV News
  282. No Closer to Backstop Deal
  283. May Not Trying to Remove the Backstop
  284. May Doesn't Delete Backstop
  285. Arelene Foster: "The prime minister has to regard what parliament has given her a mandate for. And parliament’s mandate is to replace the backstop."
  286. They Hate it Too
  287. Good Work Theresa
  288. Running Down the Clock
  289. ERG Government Defeat
  290. Guardian Front Page
  291. Tory Civil War
  292. Great
  293. Looking Strong and Stable
  294. Poor lass
  295. Disgusting
  296. No intergrity
  297. Classy as Hell
  298. From Parliament Website
  299. Well that worked
  300. Free Vote
  301. Spring Statement
  302. Liz Truss
  303. May Vote Against No Deal
  304. Excuse me?
  305. LOL
  306. It's back baby
  307. WOW
  308. Shame
  309. Delay Vote
  310. EU Permission Slip
  311. NOO
  312. I don't know anymore
  313. Oh Well
  314. No one's Hopeful
  315. Not buying it
  316. Money
  317. Theresa May resigns over Brexit: What happened?
  318. https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/commons-vote-rejected-parliament-recess-boris-johnson-news-latest-today-a9121486.html
  319. https://www.theguardian.com/politics/ng-interactive/2019/oct/19/brexit-deal-how-did-your-mp-vote-on-the-letwin-amendment
  320. https://www.theguardian.com/politics/live/2019/oct/17/eu-leaders-gather-for-summit-as-boris-johnson-scrambles-to-get-backing-for-brexit-deal-politics-live?page=with:block-5da860f48f08c78d1cb4e169#block-5da860f48f08c78d1cb4e169
  321. https://www.theguardian.com/law/2019/sep/24/boris-johnsons-suspension-of-parliament-unlawful-supreme-court-rules-prorogue
  322. Mikhailova, Anna (4 September 2019). "Boris Johnson to strip 21 Tory MPs of the Tory whip in parliamentary bloodbath". The Daily Telegraph. 
  323. Government to break with 250-year tradition and deny John Bercow a peerage as MPs set out their stalls to replace him
  324. Results of the 2019 General Election
  325. Boris Johnson's 'oven-ready' Brexit had a secret footnote: we'll rehash it later
  326. PMQs: Keir Starmer presses Boris Johnson over care home deaths
  327. Brexit: Face-to-face trade talks between UK and EU begin in Brussels
  328. Revoke Article 50
  329. May Says No
  330. New York Times on the Stupid Woman Issue
  331. Half of MPs Should Be Women
  332. John Bercow Hypocrisy
  333. New York Times on the Stupid Woman Issue
  334. John Bercow Photo
  335. No One Ever Tells Him the Party Line
  336. Jeremy's Spokesperson Comment
  337. Deaf Person Thinks He Said Stupid Women
  338. Lip Reader Says he Said Stupid Woman
  339. Lips Readers Can't Agree
  340. Corbyn Denies the Allegations
  341. Too Far Mate
  342. Bang out of order mate
  343. Arlene's Mad as Hell
  344. Juncker response
  345. Listening Mode
  346. Show Us The Money
  347. Labour Being Split
  348. David Lammy Not Amused
  349. Brexit the Queen
  350. https://www.bbc.com/news/live/uk-politics-48394091
  351. Step Down Before 2022
  352. Arelene Foster warns May
  353. "Brexit: Spain calls for joint control of Gibraltar". BBC News.
  354. "Brexit: Gibraltar in talks with Scotland to stay in EU". BBC News.
  355. "Let's not stop at Brexit. It's time London declared independence". The Daily Telegraph.
  356. See the Wikipedia article on Scottish independence referendum, 2014.
  357. "There's a campaign to make Manchester part of Scotland". The Independent. 14 May 2015.
  358. McDonald, Henry (11 March 2016). "Sinn Féin calls for vote on Irish reunification if UK backs Brexit". The Guardian.
  359. "George Soros, the billionaire who 'broke' the Bank of England, wins big from Brexit". The Independent. 25 June 2016.